Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Kodak Agfa presents : El-Sayida Ramadan Market

It is Ramadan time in Egypt which means the time of thousands and thousands Ramadan Lanterns all over Egypt.
Kodak Agfa took the camera and decided this year to head one of the famous tradition markets in Cairo : El-Sayida Zeinab Ramadan Market. "It is quite belated post but I did not have time to post the photos except now"
Already it is a hot zone this year for photographers who discovered it too late but for one good reason : The Egyptian traditional lanterns are back to dominate the market.

Be ready for more lanterns in this post

Located directly beside Cairo's El-Sayida Zeinab Mosque , a seasonal traditional informal market is held on both sides of Al-Sad street to sell mainly Ramadan Lanterns as well other Ramadan supplies from dried fruits ,herbs, pickles and legumes as well toys and Ramadan decorations.

El-Sayida Zeinab Mosque and the market behind it

That location is turned from a marketplace to a Moulid Place.
The Mosque of Cairo's Islamic Saint Patron is located in the heart of Islamic Cairo , the old Cairo so you can feel that the ambiance here is different as you can feel the Spirit of Ramadan even before it started.

A very crowded seasonal market

My trip there was 48 hours before the start of Ramadan .
It is different than Upper Class or Upper Middle-Class area as here you can feel here the authentic Ramadan ambiance that other more classy areas try to mimic.

Despite the hot weather , many people were there doing their Ramadan
Shopping

Prior Ramadan by 48 hours and in a very hot weather conditions , the street was extremely crowded with families and mother who were doing their Ramadan shopping buying lanterns for their homes as well their kids.

A lady taking a photo of her son among hundreds of Egyptian traditional lanterns

The lanterns of Um Hashim

El-Sayida Zeinab area is considered from the main zones in Cairo where the traditional Egyptian traditional lanterns are manufactured for decades if not for centuries.

Lanterns from here to eternity

Two main areas are specifically known for that ongoing industry in El-Sayida Zeinab area : Bab El-Khalk and Berkit El-Fil. Usually, the workshops work for 11 months in manufacturing the lanterns and then take one month off : Ramadan.

Hundreds if not thousands of traditional Egyptian lanterns in that market

The Egyptian traditional Ramadan lantern is usually handmade from tin and colored glass.

Egyptian traditional lanterns hanged in the market

Handmade Lanterns here and lanterns there on the other side

Those lanterns are made of glass and tin

For three decades , the Egyptian traditional Ramadan lantern seemed to be on the verge of extinction thanks to the Chinese Plastic Ramadan lantern and its market.

For three decades, Children and parents alike preferred the cheap Chinese Plastic Ramadan lantern because of their colored interesting shapes and good prices as well their light weight.

Two boys standing at Chinese toys corner

Yet, thankfully to the current economic and currency crises in Egypt, the Egyptian traditional lantern restored its throne once again.

Smaller Egyptian traditional lanterns

Egyptian traditional lanterns used to be lit by candles

In April 2015, the ministry of industry and commerce banned the importation of Chinese Ramadan lanterns in an attempt to save foreign currency.

lanterns stall at El-Sayida Zeinab

The importation of Chinese Ramadan lanterns used to cost Egypt nearly USD 10 million during then. The decision's echo was felt this year.
Speaking to one of the Shopkeepers this year, he told me that the market "sucks" as they can not import new Chinese Ramadan lanterns nor they do have dollars in the first place.

There is still demand for Egyptian traditional lantern I saw there

The Chinese lanterns of last year are still there including the Dora , the explorer Ramadan lantern.

Chinese lanterns , see how they are different from their Egyptian lanterns

The man says that there was not high demand on Egyptian traditional lantern because they were expensive. It is true that the Egyptian traditional handmade lantern was more expensive as it may start from LE 30 to 40 to 150 to 250 depending on the size.

Lanterns seller waits for the customers in his stall

Bigger size lanterns are usually purchased by restaurants, cafes and hotels.

A gigantic lantern made for hotels and restaurants

The bigger lanterns' prices can reach to thousands of pounds

Still , I believe there was a considerable demand on the Egyptian traditional handmade lanterns in the street itself as people used to buy from other stalls.

Smiling among the lanterns

Strike a pose

Yes , the shops were actually stalls covered by the famous Red Khayamia pattern fabric.

The stalls that were set up

The stalls are easy to be removed after the end of the holy month of Ramadan

Khayamia red pattern has become Ramadan's official decoration. People came to the market to buy the Ramadan Khayamia linens as there were much cheaper here than in other areas in Cairo.
They also come to buy Ramadan supplies from dried fruits , herbs and dates as well pickles "Torshi" in much cheaper prices.

An Upper Egyptian dates seller and his son

Egyptian traditional pickles "Turshi" at El-Sayida Market

Dried fruits and herbs seller at El-Sayida Market

Side note : The lanterns of Um Hashim's Subtitle here is inspired from Yahiya Hakki's famous novel "The Lamp of Umm Hashim"
Um Hashim is one of the titles or names the Egyptians called "El-Sayida Zeinab" {Lady Zeinab} the granddaughter of Prophet Mohamed. Most Egyptians believe that she settled down and died in Egypt after the battle at Karbala.
Already there are two shrines for her in the Arab world : One in Damascus and the famous Shrine in Cairo.

Ramadan lanterns Fashion this year

The popular Ramadan lanterns this year are those two :
The Khayamia Ramadan lantern which is made from Khayamia fabric and it comes in different sizes.

A big electric Khayamia glass lantern

A Khayamia lantern in making

The second popular lantern at least among the Ahly Sports Club fans is the Ramadan Sobhi wooden lantern.
The Ramadan Sobhi wooden lantern shows his silhouette doing his famous move "standing over the football" that drives Zamalek Sports club fans mad.

The Ramadan Sobhi lantern

The wooden lanterns are still popular because they are cheap and light.

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